Samuel McPherson Janney (1801 - 1880)

Born 11 Jan 1801 in Goose Creek, Loudoun, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Hopkins Janney — married 9 Mar 1826 in Alexandria, District of Columbia, United States

Died 30 Apr 1880 at age 79 in Loudoun, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Samuel was a Friend (Quaker)

Samuel was the son of Abijah Janney and Jane McPherson born 11 Jan 1801.^[1][2]

He married Elizabeth Hopkins Janney on 9 Mar 1826.

Samuel died on 30 Apr 1880.^[3]

• Fact: Residence (1870) Nebraska, United States
• Fact: Burial (1880) Goose Creek Burying Ground, Lincoln, Loudoun, Virginia, United States
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch Samuel McPherson Janney was born in Loudoun County, Virginia on January 11, 1801. His parents, Abijah and Jane Janney, were upstanding members of the Religious Society of Friends and raised their son in the Quaker tradition. When Samuel was twelve years old, his mother died, prompting his father to sell their mill and farm in Loudoun and settle in Fairfax County, Virginia. While attending school in nearby Alexandria for two years, Janney lived with his uncle, Phinneas Janney, and worked in his counting-house. An avid reader, Janney excelled in his studies and formed a literary society for the purpose of critiquing original works. However, he decided that his religious devotion took precedence over his scholarship, and he subsequently dropped his plans to become a classical scholar. He married Elizabeth Janney, a distant relative, in 1826. After a failed attempt at running a cotton factory in Occoquan, Janney opened the Springdale Boarding School for Girls in Loudoun County in 1839. There he pursued his love of learning through teaching. He also published essays on the Quaker religion and the anti-slavery movement, including a book entitled History of the Religious Society of Friends, from its Rise to the Year 1828 (4 volumes, 1860-67). He also published one volume of poetry in 1839, The Last of the Lenapé, and Other Poems. In addition, he contributed to biographies of William Penn and George Fox. Janney's anti-slavery efforts included founding Sunday schools and day schools for African American children, lobbying the District of Columbia to abolish slavery, and supporting emancipation and colonization societies. In 1869 his lifelong interest in the welfare of Native Americans led him to become a Government Superintendent of Indian Affairs for seven tribes based in Omaha, Nebraska. When ill health forced him to resign from this position, he returned to Loudoun County, where he died in 1880.

As The Memoirs of Samuel M. Janney attests, Janney tirelessly devoted his life to education and religious ministry in the Society of Friends. His Quaker faith is the driving force of both his life and narrative, and he connects the major events in his past with his religious conviction. After a detailed description of his ancestors and their involvement with the Society of Friends, he discusses his desire to focus his life on religion, in part for fear that following a literary career would lead him into the temptations of fame. Janney tells of his extensive missionary travels in the northeastern United States, as well as his involvement with both the anti-slavery movement and relief work for Native Americans. Around 1833 Janney was able to merge his literary interests with his religious calling, when he began to write and publish educational works about the Society of Friends. He includes excerpts of his writings concerning Quaker involvement in the anti-slavery movement, which was a heated topic that caused severe divisions among Friends. He also includes several letters on the subject of free public education. After documenting his fears and frustration during the turmoil of the Civil War, which limited his missionary trips, he concludes with a description of his experience in Omaha, Nebraska as Government Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The remainder of the narrative covers the final years of his involvement with the Society of Friends before his death in 1880. Because he never formally ended his memoir, it closes with a series of remembrances written by Janney's friends and family.

Works Consulted: Knight, Lucian Lamar, comp., Biographical Dictionary of Southern Authors, Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1978; Johnson, Allen and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964.

Harris Henderson Armistead Lemon

Source 10/30/21 https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/janney/summary.html

See other bio from the Next of Abolitionist at the following link added on 10.30.21.

https://lincolnquakers.com/samuel-mcpherson-janney/

Published Works

This listing is not complete and excludes numerous articles found in a wide variety of publications.

• The last of the Lenapé : and other poems (Philadelphia : Henry Perkins ; Boston : Perkins & Marvin, 1839.)
• An historical sketch of the Christian church during the Middle Ages (Philadelphia, J. Richards, Printer, 1847)
• A popular life of George Fox, the first of the Quakers. (London, Charles Gilpin, 1847)
• The freedom of the press vindicated. : To the public : at the last quarterly court in Loudoun County, Va., a presentment of the grand jury against Samuel M. Janney, for a publication in answer to W.A. Smith's defence of slavery ... (Loudoun County, VA. : S.M. Janney, 1850.)
• The life of William Penn : with selections from his correspondence and auto-biography (Philadelphia : Hogan, Perkins, 1852.)
• Vindication of William Penn, from the recent charges of T.B. Macaulay (Philadelphia, Merrihew & Thompson, Printers, 1856.)
• Summary of Christian doctrines as held by the religious Society of Friends
• Essays on practical piety and divine grace (Philadelphia : Book Association of Friends, 1860)
• An American view of the causes which have led to the decline of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland. (T.E. Zell ; London : A.W. Bennett, 1860.)
• Conversations on religious subjects, and Familiar dialogues (Philadelphia : Friends' Publication Association, 1868)
• An examination of the causes which led to the separation of the Religious Society of Friends in America, 1827-28 ... (Philadelphia : T. Ellwood Zell, 1868)
• History of the Religious Society of Friends : from its rise to the year 1828 (four volumes, Philadelphia [Pa.] : T. Ellwood Zell, 1870.)
• Peace principles exemplified in the early history of Pennsylvania
• Report of the delegates representing the Yearly Meetings : of Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Indiana, Ohio, and Genessee, on the Indian concern, at Baltimore, Tenth Month, 1871. (New York : Published for the Yearly Meeting, 1871)
• Testimony of the Society of Friends on Indian civilization, submitted to the commission appointed to consider the transfer of the Indian Bureau to the War Department (Philadelphia : Friends' Book Association, 1878)
• Dissertation on the views of George Fox concerning Christian discipline ( Philadelphia : Friends' Book Association, 1884)
• Memoirs of Samuel M. Janney, late of Lincoln, Loudoun County, Va. : a minister in the Religious Society of Friends (1890, Friends Book Association, Philadelphia)
• Vital religion and the means of promoting it (Philadelphia : Friends Publication Association, 1892)

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M41J-N4Y : 18 February 2021), Samuel M Janney, 1860.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHD3-DVV : 29 May 2021), Samuel M Janey, 1870.
3. ↑ Samuel McPherson Janney, ; Burial, Purcellville, Loudoun, Virginia, United States of America, Goose Creek Burying Ground; Find A Grave: Memorial #39426553

See also:

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 24 January 2022, 02:03), entry for Samuel McPherson Janney (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:L4SG-WWZ ); contributed by various users.